Cuba
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Slow economic activity despite reforms
HAVANA, Cuba, CMC – Cuba said Monday its economy will fall short of the 3.6 percent goal for growth, an indication that President Raúl Castro’s reforms are generating little new economic activity. According to the official Cuban Communist party newspaper, Granma, despite the forecast, Castro was happy about the report on his reforms of the economy. “We continue advancing, and…
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US resumes migration talks with Cuba
WASHINGTON, CMC – The United States says it will resume migration talks with Cuba after a long suspension. “Continuing to ensure secure migration between the US and Cuba is consistent with our interests in promoting greater freedoms and increased respect for human rights in Cuba,” said US Department of State spokesman William Ostick in a statement. Ostick said that US…
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Top US officials call for closure of detention center in Cuba
WASHINGTON, CMC – After visiting the controversial Guantánamo detention center in Cuba, a top United States official and two legislators have called for its immediate closure. “We continue to believe that it is in our national interest to end detention at Guantánamo, with a safe and orderly transition of the detainees to other locations,” said US President Barack Obama’s chief…
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Oil exploration suspended
HAVANA, Cuba, CMC – A Russian state oil company drilling off Cuba’s northern shores says it is temporarily halting its exploration. Zarubezhneft said it was halting work because of “geological” problems but will resume oil exploration next year. The announcement signaled an end to the only active exploration program in Cuba which now relies on highly subsidized oil from Venezuela.…
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St. Lucia PM receives one of Cuba’s highest honours
HAVANA, Cuba, CMC – Cuba has bestowed the Jose Marti medal of honour on St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony, who is on an official visit to the Caribbean Communist country. The award is the highest honour bestowed upon a foreign dignitary by the Cuba government. On Tuesday, Anthony laid a wreath at the base of the monument of…
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CUBA-POLITICS-St. Lucia PM underscores importance of diplomatic relations with Cuba
HAVANA, Cuba, CMC – St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony began a five-day official visit to Cuba on Monday praising the Caribbean Communist country for support to his island “with no strings attached”. Anthony met with the President of the Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, Kenya Serrano as well as mothers of five Cubans imprisoned in the United…
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Decline in food production
HAVANA, Cuba, CMC – The Cuban government says it has seen a dramatic and unexplained drop in the harvest of vegetables and fruit in the first three months of the year. In a report, the Cuban National Statistics Office (ONE) gave no reason for the production decline, despite government reforms to increase production in the Spanish-speaking country that spends more…
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CUBA-TECHNOLOGY-US firm says Cuba activates fibre optic cable link with Jamaica
MAINE, CMC – An American company that monitors global Internet traffic, says Cuba has activated a branch of its submarine fibre optic cable that connects to Jamaica, giving it greater bandwidth and a backup in case the main leg to Venezuela is not available. Senior analyst at Renesys Corporation, Doug Madory, said that the company has noticed that ETECSA, the…
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UNITED STATES-POLITICS-Cuban president’s daughter gets permit to attend gay forum
WASHINGTON, CMC – The United States has changed its mind in allowing the daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro to attend a gay rights forum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reversing a previous rejection. Sexologist Mariela Castro, the director of Cuba’s National Center for Sex Education and a vocal proponent of same-sex marriage and gay rights, has received a US visa to…
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Cuba, Venezuela ink deals worth two billion dollars
Cuba and Venezuela have signed accords for 51 joint projects worth $2 billion US dollars in Havana, local media reported Sunday. At the close of 13th Cuba-Venezuela Intergovernmental Meeting Saturday night, Cuban President Raul Castro and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the deals for projects in such areas as education, health, sports, culture, food production, construction, transport, communications, energy and…
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